DavidDoyleBooks.com (Schiffer Publishing) out of Memphis TN, is back again with another Legends of Warfare (Ground) book entitled Panzerkampfwagen IV - The Backbone of Germany's WWII Tank Forces, by popular author David Doyle. Anyone familiar with armor modeling literature and research will recognize this authoritative combination, and like usual, this latest release won't disappoint.

Looking across my personal bookshelf of maybe 200 titles, I can spot several of Mr. Doyle's books, including Panzer II, 251 Halftrack Visual History and Tiger I In Action, and, of course, my beaten-to-death copy of German Military Vehicles, among others. If you've been building armor models for any length of time, you're probably familiar with his work as well.

Dragon has recently released the Befehls (Command) version of the Panther Aufs. G. This kit is a fairly extensively equipped with many parts trees, clear, photoetch, and wire cables. Though externally identifiable at distance as a Panther, there are subtle details closeup that identify this as a special version of the venerable combat variant. Germany has a history of command versions of many of their combat vehicles, primarily equipped with extra radios and operators for long range and multi-command and control networks. This kit brings into the fold another variant of one of those vehicles.

Summary

Panda Hobby, a relatively new manufacturer based in China, has recently released a very interesting addition to the German self-propelled Marder family in 1/35th scale; the Sd.Kfz. 135 Marder I. The diminutive French chassis sports individual-link track, a single-piece barrel, and a nicely-detailed ammunition rack to help kick-start the interior.

Background

The Marder or "Marten" was the name given to a variety of German World War II tank destroyers which used existing, high-use or outdated chassis coupled with proven and lethal anti-tank guns. Due to the weight and space constraints of the smaller chassis, the Marder series were not fully armored and were not considered proper Panzerjager that could exchange fire with enemy tanks. Thin upper armor on the front and sides offered protection against shrapnel and small arms only. Accordingly, these vehicles operated best when used in ambush situations or from prepared defensive positions. All Marder series had open tops, although some were issued with canvas covers to protect the crew from the elements.

Trumpeter continues to produce a wide range of interesting and wide ranging Russian subjects. While the box says that this is the Russian AT-S Tractor, in fact, this is a two-in-one kit. Also included with the prime mover is the Soviet ML-20 152 mm howitzer Mod 1937. As with most Trumpeter kits, the box is sturdy and the sprues are individually packaged and the more fragile parts are wrapped in foam. For the prime mover there are twelve sprues, including four for the individual track links, one sprue of transparent parts and a small PE fret. There are markings for three vehicles, Russian, Finnish, and the German Democratic Republic. For this build, I chose the Finnish markings. For the artillery piece, there are nine sprues, two PE frets, a set of rubber tires and a metal gun barrel. As with most recent Trumpeter models, the parts are well molded in grey plastic, though there is some fine flash and mold lines present on the parts which take some time to clean up. While this a prime mover combination, the artillery piece is so sweet, I elected to build them apart rather than the vehicle towing the gun.

I've always had a fascination for the Russian T-54/T-55 series and have been building models of it all my life, beginning with the ancient Tamiya T-55 from the 1960's. As each new incarnation came out, I leapt on it eagerly, including the Lindberg kit, the AMT/ERTL kit all the way to the latest Takom offering.

MiniArt has been expanding its armor stable dramatically lately, with the release of a number of kits on these ubiquitous vehicles, both with and without full interiors. The T54-1 marks the transition of Russian armor development from the the T-34 through the T-44 and rather looks like a transition, with a number of aspects shared with its predecessors.